Keeping a Promise
by Laura Louisa Lewis
Summary: Months before his death, Joe Reagan learned of his brother Jamie's decision to join the NYPD. Joe promised to stand behind his brother when Jamie told the family. Now Joe is dead, and Jamie has to face his family alone. Or does he? Part II of One Year.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: This was originally the last few chapters of _One Year_, but it wanted to be its own story. Enjoy! Laura L.

* * *

**JUNE 3, 2009**

Jamie Reagan made his way across the Brooklyn cemetery where too many members of his family were buried. He stopped in front of the family plot, and the most recently-installed headstone. _Joseph Conor Reagan. _He swallowed down a sob as he looked at the dates. Had it really been almost three weeks? _Beloved Son, Brother, Uncle…_ "Joey, I miss you so much. We all do. Angie too. We're taking her out to dinner Saturday, by the way. We didn't want her to be alone on your birthday."

Jamie sat down on the ground in front of the family headstones. "Joe, what I came here to tell you is..." Jamie paused as he thought about what he'd come here to say. Would Joey still want him to go through with joining the NYPD? Well, he was going to do it anyway. "Today's the day. I'm going to start telling the family today. Starting with Grandpop, just like you recommended," he told his brother. "I'm meeting him for lunch at Owls Head Park."

He looked over at his mother's headstone. "Joe, maybe you can talk to Mom for me? Explain to her why I'm doing this. That I really did give law my best shot, and it just wasn't right for me. That I wouldn't be happy as a lawyer for very long. Can you make her understand for me?"

Jamie leaned forward to rest his head on his knees. "God, Joey, I wish you were here. You promised to stand behind me when I told the family, and I know you'd keep that promise if you could. It's going to be a thousand times harder without you there."

_"Who says I'm not going to keep that promise, kiddo?"_

Jamie squeezed his eyes shut. Of course Joe would be there in memory. He could draw strength from the memory of Joe supporting his career change and Joe's promise to stand behind him. "Well, Joe, here goes. I'm off to meet Grandpop. Wish me luck." Jamie stood up, turned away from the headstones and began the walk back to his car for the short drive to Owls Head Park and his new career.


	2. Henry

**JUNE 3, 2009 – Henry**

Jamie Reagan sat at a small table in Owls Head Park. He glanced down at his wristwatch. 12:30PM. Right when he had arranged to meet his grandfather for lunch. He looked at the hot dogs and sodas sitting on the table in front of him and suddenly regretted buying them. The aromas drifting off the food and the nervous butterflies in his stomach were not getting along. Finally, he saw his grandfather walk into the park.

"Grandpop!" Jamie stood up and waved to his grandfather. He watched as Henry slowly made his way over to the park table. His grandfather had taken to using a cane more and more often this past month. Said he was suddenly feeling old.

"Hello, Grandson. I see you still know how to treat an old man," Henry joked as he noticed to two fully-dressed hot dogs on the table.

"I know what you like for lunch, Pop."

The next half hour was occupied with eating lunch and small talk about family, the weather, the state of affairs within the police department. Finally, Henry sat back and studied his youngest grandson. "So, you want to tell me what this is really about, Jamie?"

Jamie tried his best innocent look. "Can't I want to spend some time with my grandfather?"

"I'm not complaining. But you're at a busy time in your life right now, with the Bar exam prep every morning and working at that law firm in the afternoons. And you're jumpier than ninety percent of the perps I interrogated. So what's up?"

Jamie smiled at his grandfather's description. "I've been thinking about something," he began, then paused. He'd done a little more than _think_.

"Spit it out, kid," Henry urged.

_"Yeah, kid. Spit it out. And sit up straight when you do it," Joe told his brother. He rested his hands above Jamie's shoulders and moved them back. "Chin up, shoulders back."_

Jamie shifted in his seat, straightening his back, squaring his shoulders. "I've applied to the Academy, for the September intake." Jamie didn't say what academy. In this family, there was only one.

Henry looked at him for a few seconds. "Damn, kid. It's about time you figured it out."

Jamie laughed even as tears sprang to his eyes.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

Jamie forced down the tears. "That was just about Joe's reaction when I told him."

"Well, Joe is smart. Was. Damn it."

"Damn it." Jamie repeated. He took a minute to try to compose himself. "He also said I should come to you next, before I went to Dad or the rest of the family."

"Well, he was right about that. They're gonna give you all kinds of hell. Especially now. But I'm proud of you, and they will be too, eventually." Henry looked down at his cane. "I'm gonna need to get rid of this thing. There's a lot I need to teach you."

_"You really do need to ditch the cane, Pops. Makes you look like an old man," Joe informed his grandfather. "And you've got a lot to teach Jamie to keep him safe. That cane's just going to get in your way."_

"Grandpop, isn't that what the Academy is for?"

"Pish. They don't teach you what you really need to know. That's what us old farts are for. To teach you the important stuff."

"Like where to find the best hot dogs?"

Henry raised his cane toward Jamie. "You watch it, you little smart-mouthed young'un," he teased. "So, Jamie, when do you plan to tell your father?"

Jamie smiled nervously. "Soon. I hoped you be there when I did."

"Tell me when and where, kid. I'll be there." Henry promised.


	3. Frank

**JUNE 7, 2009 – Frank**

Frank stood in his study, silently staring out the window, watching as Danny and his family and Erin and Nicki headed toward their cars. Sunday dinners had become glum affairs this past month. Too many empty chairs at the table. Mary's, Joe's, and, more often than not, Jack Boyle's. Too much sadness. Too much loss. This Sunday, the day after what would have been Joe's 33rd birthday, had seemed especially wrong. Not that June 6th would ever feel right again, not with Joe lying next to Mary in the cemetery. Danny and Erin were trying too hard to compensate for the emptiness by arguing with each other, and Jamie… Something extra had been off with Jamie. He'd been nervous, jittery. Probably stressed out with preparing for the Bar exam.

"Dad?" Jamie knocked on the doorframe of the study. "Got a minute?"

Frank invited his son in. Henry followed a minute later. "Drink?"

"Sure. But not too much. I've got to drive back to my place later."

_"Go ahead and make it a big one. He's not going anywhere for a while. And refill yours also, Dad. You're gonna need it." Joe perched himself on the couch behind Jamie._

Frank handed Jamie the glass. The last time Jamie had come to him looking this nervous, he'd been asking for his grandmother's ring to give to Sydney. "Everything good with Sydney?"

Jamie smiled weakly. "Yeah. She's fine. Her parents were in town today. That's why she couldn't make it to dinner." He sipped his drink.

_"Kiddo, delaying won't make this any better. Tell him. And remember, chin up, shoulders back."_

Jamie spun his glass between his hands and adjusted his posture on the couch. He looked up at his father. "Dad, I'm leaving the law and applying to the Academy, for the September intake."

For a minute, no one moved, or even breathed. Finally, Frank silently walked over to his desk and poured more Scotch into his glass. He resisted the urge to fill it up to the brim, or just pick up the bottle and toss back as much as he could in one gulp. He tried to wrap his head around the news his son had just delivered. Jamie. His baby boy, grown up into a Harvard lawyer. Giving up his law career. Going to the Academy in September. So soon after they'd buried Joe.

"Dad?"

"You're sure about this?"

Jamie nodded. "Yes, sir. I've sent my application to the Academy, and if they accept me, I'm going."

"No reason they wouldn't," Frank commented. He looked down at the picture on his desk of Mary, Jamie and him, taken three years earlier at Harvard just moments after Jamie had received his undergraduate degree. "You know your mother wanted you to be an attorney. Made me promise you'd go into the law."

Jamie sighed. "I'm sorry for disappointing Mom. But it wouldn't be the right career for me."

"I think she knew that." Frank put one hand on his desk, over the drawer where a letter Mary had written to Jamie currently resided. _Mary, I think it's the right time. _He opened the drawer, pulled out the letter and handed it to Jamie. "Your mother asked me to give this to you after you passed the bar exam. I think she'll understand if I give it to you now."

Jamie looked down at the envelope. His name, in his mother's elegant handwriting, spread across the front.

"Open it," Frank prompted.

Jamie carefully opened the envelope and pulled out the one-page letter inside.

_My dear Jameson,_ he read.

_When you read this, you'll be a full-fledged attorney; graduated from law school and admitted to the Bar; ready to go out and do your part toward making the world better. I wish I could be there to tell you how proud I am of you. How proud I am that you've developed into a man of integrity and strength. How proud I am of you for following to its conclusion the path you father and I pushed you on. _

_But I have come to realize that maybe that path we wanted for you isn't the one you would have chosen for yourself. I saw this past summer how you admire the work your father and brothers are doing, and how dissatisfied you were with the work you were doing. I thank you for staying on the path through law school, but it may be time for you to choose a different one. More than anything, I want you to be happy and satisfied with your life. If being a lawyer will satisfy you, be the best one you can be. If you want to follow a different path, even one that leads to the NYPD, do so with your whole heart and with my blessing. _

_I know you will succeed in whatever you choose to do and will be a shining light bettering the world through whatever vocation you choose._

_Love forever,_

_Mom_

Jamie grabbed a handful of tissues from the box his father was holding out to him and pressed them to his eyes.

Frank gave Jamie a minute to pull himself together. "Your mother knew something wasn't right. She didn't want you to force yourself into a career that wasn't right for you, because you thought that's what she wanted."

"So, you can accept my decision to join the NYPD?"

"Accept your decision, respect your decision, be damn proud of you. Just don't ask me to be happy about it right now."

Jamie tried to smile. "Maybe later?"

"Later," Frank agreed.

_"Come on Pop, of course you'll be happy for him. You don't want him to spend his whole life being miserable as a lawyer. And you'll have all your boys following family tradition."_

Frank's thoughts turned to another envelope that was sitting in his desk. Joe's life insurance policy, and the beneficiary designation that put most of the proceeds in a trust for his niece and nephews, to fund their college educations, and part in a trust for Jamie, to be given to him if, three years later, he was serving as an NYPD officer. That provision suddenly made sense. "Jamie, did your brother… did Joe know?"

_"Pop, don't tell him. Make that a surprise for him. I don't want the money to influence his decision."_

Jamie nodded. "He found out what I was thinking last November. Said if I finished law school, he'd stand behind me when I told the rest of you."

_"And I'm here, kiddo. Right behind you."_


	4. Danny

**AUGUST 8, 2009 – Danny**

Danny Reagan zig-zagged around his brother, darted toward the basketball hoop and jumped. With a swish, the basketball dropped through the hoop and into his waiting hands. "One last perfect lay-up. And that's the game. What's wrong with you, kid? You made winning easy today."

Jamie took a second to wipe at the sweat dripping down his face. "Out of practice, I guess. Spent all my time recently studying for the Bar exam."

Danny dribbled the basketball. "Nah. That was over last week. You're playing distracted. Why?"

_Because I am distracted_, Jamie thought. _Because I've got to tell you something that's guaranteed to get you pissed off with me. _On his father's and grandfather's advice, he'd waited to tell Danny and Erin about his changed career plans until his admission to the Academy was finalized. But he couldn't delay any longer. "You want to sit down?" Jamie asked, gesturing toward the nearby bleachers.

"No, I don't want to sit down." Danny frowned, unease tickling the back of his neck. "Tell me what's going on."

_"Tell him. It's not going to get any easier, kiddo," Joe encouraged as he leaned against the bleachers._

"Danny, I'm leaving Baker McKinney. Giving them my two-week notice on Monday. I'm not going to be an attorney. I applied to the NYPD, they accepted me, and I'm starting at the Academy next month."

Danny stared at him for an uncomfortable few seconds. "The hell you are," he finally snapped.

Jamie tried not to flinch at his brother's anger. "Danny, I've been accepted at the Academy, and I'm going…"

Danny angrily dribbled the ball against the hardwood floor, each bounce echoing loudly through the gym. "You don't have the skills you need to make it."

"I have as many skills as you did when you entered the Academy," Jamie argued.

"No you don't. I had two years in the Marines, plus some street smarts. All you've got is a head full of dusty old legal crap that won't do a thing to help you do the job."

_"Danny, don't be an ass."_

"Dumbass," Jamie muttered under his breath.

"What did you just say?" Danny threw the ball at his brother. It bounced off Jamie's head, sending him stumbling backwards onto his behind. "I'm not being an ass. I'm being realistic. That right there shows why this is the dumbest idea you've ever had! You just stood there, trusting me not to hurt you."

"Because you're my brother!" Jamie held one hand to his scraped forehead.

"Well, that's how cops get killed. Trusting people like that." Danny turned to head for the locker room.

"I won't make that mistake again," Jamie yelled at his brother's back. Completely enraged, he scrambled to his feet and tackled Danny to the ground. Which, he quickly decided, was another mistake he wouldn't make again. Danny had Academy training, plus Marine Corps training, plus a good amount of anger on his side, and Jamie only managed to swing a few punches before he found himself face down on the basketball court with Danny's knee in his back and one arm pinned behind him. "Lemme go."

"Not until you admit how stupid this idea of yours is," Danny growled.

"Fine. Attacking you was stupid, and I won't do it again." Jamie tried to squirm free.

Danny put more pressure on Jamie's arm. "Not that idea, Harvard."

"No."

_Joe knelt down beside his brothers, facing Danny. "Danny, stop! Don't break his arm. That won't change his mind. Going to the Academy, following our footsteps, it's what he wants._"

Danny squeezed his eyes shut. Now he was hearing things. He let go of his brother's arm, but didn't let him up. "You'd better pay attention at the Academy. Because you have a lot to learn, and I don't want to end up the only surviving brother out of the three of us." At his words, Danny felt the fight go out of his little brother.

"I promise I will. I'll be the best cadet they've ever seen. For Joe."

Danny released his brother and stood up. "Damn right you will. And I'm not through arguing with you about this. And I want to be there when you tell Erin." He stalked off toward the locker room.

"Then you'd better show up for Sunday dinner tomorrow!" Jamie yelled after his brother.

_"That went about as well as expected," Joe commented. He knelt down beside Jamie and studied the scrape on his forehead. "Better give him some space, so he doesn't do worse."_

Jamie slowly stood up and retrieved the basketball from where it at come to a rest in the middle of the court. He dribbled it a few times, then tossed it at the basket. He'd give Danny some time to cool off before he headed for the locker room. He scooped up the ball and made another shot. Tomorrow's family dinner was sure to be memorable.


	5. Erin (and Danny)

**AUGUST 9, 2009 – Erin**

"Grandpa, may we be excused?" Jack asked his grandfather.

Frank looked down the table. His grandsons had eaten some of their dinner, but not as much as usual. Probably due to the tension radiating from each of his children.

"Let them leave, Frank. There's two cartons of ice cream in the freezer just waiting for a nice summer evening and a back porch. Nicki, why don't you join them?" Henry suggested.

"Take your plates to the kitchen first, boys," Linda instructed. Jack and Sean quickly stood up and headed for the kitchen, with Nicki reluctantly following behind.

Frank glanced around the table again. Danny was glaring at Jamie, as he had been throughout dinner. Jamie was studiously ignoring Danny, also as he had been throughout dinner, and there was that unexplained bruise and abrasion on his forehead. And Erin had uncharacteristically hardly spoken one word through the entire meal. "Okay, who wants to go first?" Frank asked.

"I have…" Erin began, only to be interrupted by her brother.

"Jamie has something he wants to tell us. Don't you, kid?" Danny said, anger still evident in his voice.

"Most everyone here already knows," Jamie retorted.

"Fine. So tell the rest of us. Make it official."

"Should I stand up?"

Danny waved toward Jamie. "Whatever you want."

_"Stand up. I told you I'd stand behind you, so you have to stand up." Joe moved to stand behind his brother's chair.  
_

Jamie got to his feet. "Family, fiancé, friends. As most of you _already know_, I'm quitting Baker McKinney and joining the NYPD. I'm giving my two weeks notice to Baker tomorrow and I'm starting at the Academy in September. Any questions?"

Beside him, Sydney dropped her fork to her plate. On his other side, Erin sucked in a rapid breath, then burst into tears. Jamie quickly turned toward his sister. "Erin?"

"You see? You see what a dumb idea this is? Look what you did to Erin!" Danny demanded.

"Danny, shut up," Erin choked out. "It's not that. Not just that."

"So you're not upset about your baby brother leaving his law career and going on the job? You think he can do it? You think he has any chance of surviving even one day on the streets?"

"Really, Danny?" Jamie protested.

"Yes to every one of those questions," Erin answered. "But that's not the problem. John left me yesterday. He's filing for divorce on Monday."

Frank stood up and pulled Erin out of her chair and into his arms. Jamie moved to rest one hand on her shoulder. Danny quickly walked around the table to also comfort his sister.

_Joe ruffled his fingers through his sister's hair. "You don't need that weenie anyway," he encouraged. "Want me to go haunt him, Sis?" _

"Want us to go beat him up, Sis?" Danny asked. "Jamie's gotta start somewhere with learning how to kick bad guy ass. Jack could be his first."

Erin managed a gasping chuckle in response.

"Can I get in on this? Because any weasel that hurts my granddaughter deserves the biggest Reagan ass-kicking he can get." Henry commented.

"Pops, why don't we take Erin into the study for a nice stiff drink." He turned to his sons. "You two can clean the kitchen. Any broken dishes come out of your inheritance," he added.

"And Sydney and I will join the kids out on the back porch. I hear the carton of mint chocolate chip calling me." Linda motioned for Sydney to follow her, leaving the two brothers staring angrily at each other in the dining room.

Jamie quickly scooped up a few dishes and headed for the kitchen.

"You really lucked out there, didn't you?" Danny followed behind his brother.

"Danny, go get some dishes. I'm not doing all this work by myself. And everyone except Erin, Linda and the kids already knew."

"And they were okay with it. Grandpop; I can see him supporting you. But Dad was okay with you changing careers like this?"

Jamie busied himself scrubbing the corner of a serving dish. "He's not happy about it, but he accepted my decision. I'd hoped you would, too."

Danny leaned back against the counter. "What about Joe?"

"What about Joe?" Jamie felt his heart tighten as the grief hit again. Three months, and still it could come back as sharp as the first day.

"Did he know?"

_"Of course 'he' knew. Because 'he' is not as oblivious as you, you big doofus," Joe told his brother. "Anyone could have seen Jamie wasn't happy being a lawyer."_

"He knew. I told him last November. He completely supported my changing careers, but made me promise to finish law school before I told the rest of the family."

_Last November! _Anger suddenly flared even hotter in Danny's chest, this time at both his brothers. Why hadn't Jamie talked to him? Why hadn't Joe talked to him once he learned of Jamie's plans? He was the big brother in the family; his younger siblings were supposed to consult him first on this kind of thing.

_"Chill, Danny. Jamie didn't plan to tell me either. I found out by accident. And I decided he should wait to tell the rest of you. That's not his fault. Besides, Jamie was always my little buddy."_

Danny forced down the anger. Of course Jamie would have gone to Joe with a decision like that. The two of them had been best buddies for all those years after he and then Erin had grown up and moved out of the family home. "Last November. So that's what your little trip back from Harvard was about. I didn't buy that you missed our company. Not when you were going to be seeing us a few weeks later at Thanksgiving. I could tell you and Joe were hiding something."

"He was going to help me tell the family, once I'd graduated," Jamie said, his voice strained.

"But you hadn't found an opportunity before…"

"We'd planned it for that Sunday."

Danny knew without further explanation that 'That Sunday' was May 17th. Two days after their brother's death, and one day before they'd buried him. Danny reached up and rested one hand on Jamie's shoulder. "I'm sorry, kid." He paused for a minute as a thought hit him. They'd both lost their brother, but Jamie had also lost his confidant, his best friend, at a time when he most needed someone to be in his corner. Danny tried to push aside his anger. He could be more understanding, like Joe had always been with Jamie. He _could_. At least, he could try. "Listen. I'm still angry with you about this, but I'll try to be more supportive, okay? Your news just hit me out of the blue yesterday."

"Okay." Jamie handed Danny a dish to dry.

Danny swiped the towel around the dish. "Don't think it's going to be easy, Harvard. It's a whole different set of skills you'll need to learn. Not just that book learning you're good at. And whatever homework the Academy has for you, I'll have more. You're going to be the best trained Reagan the NYPD has seen."

"Fine, Danny."

"Starting with some fighting skills. That tackle yesterday was good, but your follow-up needs some work. You want to go practice on Erin's soon-to-be ex?"

"I would, but I don't want to end my NYPD career before it gets started by getting arrested for assault."

"Aw, come on, kid. We could make it look like self-defense."

"Danny." Jamie shoved another dish into Danny's hands. "How about we focus on the dishes?"

"Fine. But tomorrow, you meet me at the gym after work. You've got a lot to learn."

"Fine," Jamie agreed. "But no basketballs." He gestured to his scraped forehead.

Danny smiled slightly and gripped his brother's shoulder. "No basketballs, or other intentional injuries."

* * *

Half an hour later, Erin made her way to the kitchen, where Jamie was finishing drying the last few pots and pans. She hugged him from behind. "I'm sorry for cutting in on your big announcement."

"It's okay. Danny forced that scene. That wasn't how I was planning on telling you."

Erin perched herself on the kitchen table. "You know I have to try to argue you out of this decision."

"Yes, Counselor. But it's not going to work."

"Don't underestimate me. I'm good at winning arguments."

"Try your best." Jamie focused intently on drying the last saucepan.

"Isn't Danny supposed to be helping you with those? Don't tell me he roped you into doing his chores for him."

Jamie looked over at his sister, amused at how ready she was to pick a fight with Danny. "He did his part. He and Lin needed to leave to get the boys in bed for school tomorrow. Speaking of, don't you need to get Nicki home?"

"We're staying here tonight. Grandpop gets a couple of drinks in me, then Dad tells me I'm too buzzed to drive," Erin pouted.

Jamie smirked. "You can't trust those two."

"And you want to be just like them. Another cop in the family."

Jamie put the dried pan into the cabinet and turned around to lean against it. "Yup."

"You have thought about what you're giving up. A nice salary in a nice, safe office where the worst thing that happens is your clients get angry at you?"

"I've thought about it. And who says offices are safe?"

"I do. I've worked in one for years with no injuries."

"Stress. Coronary artery disease. Carpal tunnel. Paper cuts."

"Paper cuts?"

Jamie shrugged. "They happen in offices."

Erin shook her head at her brother's logic. "You know Mom wanted you to be an attorney."

"I know. And I tried to make it work. I really tried. But it's not right for me."

"It was obvious you didn't like working for Baker last summer. But you don't have to leave the law just because you don't like working at a big firm, you know. You'd make a great DA. I could use the help."

_"Gosh, it's like I had this conversation before. Maybe because I did! Already tried each and every one of those arguments." Joe informed his sister from his position leaning against the table beside her. "Didn't work."_

Jamie chuckled weakly. "Joe made those same arguments. Didn't work for him. Won't work for you."

Erin stood up and hugged Jamie again. "Little brother, as long as you're happy, I'm happy for you."

"And I'm really sorry about Jack… about your marriage. I'd offer legal advice, but…"

"You're not a lawyer," Erin stated. "Speaking of lawyers, how did Sydney take the news?"

"I'll find out tonight."

Erin put her hands on Jamie's shoulders and shook him. "Jamie! You hadn't told her yet? She found out at dinner?"

Jamie sheepishly rubbed the side of his nose. "She knew I was seriously considering changing careers. I hadn't told her it was official yet."

"No, you hadn't." All occupants of the room turned toward the back door, where a perturbed Sydney stood.

_Joe abruptly stood up. "Oh, no, little brother. I told you I'd stand behind you when you told the family. I didn't say anything about fiancés. You're on your own for that one." _

Erin gently squeezed her brother's shoulder. "I think I'll leave you two alone, and go check on Nicki and that ice cream." She head out the door Sydney had just entered.

_"Kiddo, it's time for me to leave, too." His promise to his little brother kept, Joe followed his sister outside. There was one other promise he had made to a sibling. 'If Jack ever hurts you, we'll make sure he regrets it,' he had told Erin on her wedding day. "Sis, before I go, are you sure I can't go haunt Jack? Come on, Sis. Say yes."_

_._

* * *

Author Note: And that brings us to the end of this story. Thanks to all who have read and enjoyed (and reviewed...) this story!


End file.
